New Haven Ballet Announces Partnership with Elm City Dance Collective

[Tori Rysz]

Press Release: New Haven Ballet
Media Contact: Ruth Barker
[e-mail]
203-782-9038
www.newhavenballet.org

NEW HAVEN BALLET ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ELM CITY DANCE COLLECTIVE 

JULY 31, 2014 – NEW HAVEN, CT – Lisa Sanborn, Artistic Director of New Haven Ballet, is excited to announce a new partnership with Elm City Dance Collective. 

This newly-formed alliance pairs two of New Haven’s foremost dance organizations: New Haven Ballet (NHB), the city’s premier ballet school, and Elm City Dance Collective (ECDC), New Haven’s resident professional contemporary dance organization. As part of the initiative, ECDC Co-Founder and Artistic Partner Kellie Lynch—who is also a dancer, teacher, and choreographer for the group—will bring professional dancers from ECDC’s company to NHB for an advanced level contemporary class, which will be offered to NHB students as well as adult open division dancers from the community. In the spring term, NHB students will have the opportunity to be selected to perform in showcases with ECDC as company apprentices.  

Sanborn states: “We had such a successful year. Tom Gold, former NYC Ballet Soloist and founder/choreographer of TomGoldDance, staged an original ballet for our students. And several NHB students were offered places in nationally recognized pre-professional year-round training programs, such as School of American Ballet, Boston Ballet and Ballet Chicago. We also dedicated a tremendous amount of energy initiating DanceAIR, NHB’s outreach program that offers dance training to New Haven’s underserved children. Without losing sight of those important projects, it’s time to concentrate attention on our students and programming.”

Specifically focusing on NHB’s contemporary dance program, Sanborn and ECDC Executive Director Millie VandenBroek met last spring to begin forging a partnership. The result is a unique opportunity for ECDC to work with new talent and expand its reach in New Haven’s dance community, and for NHB students to gain experience and inspiration working with professional contemporary dancers.

VandenBroek adds, “As an organization, ECDC is committed to collaborating with artists and organizations in the New Haven area, providing performance opportunities to local dancers, contributing to the presence of dance as an accessible public art, and offering artistic development opportunities such as classes and improvisational jams. We at ECDC are delighted to partner with NHB and look forward to sharing Kellie’s terrific contemporary class with the NHB community.”

“This is truly a wonderful opportunity and I am so happy to be able to facilitate this collaboration with ECDC,” says Sanborn.

Now in its 29th year, New Haven Ballet provides the finest classical ballet training and dance education in southern Connecticut to students training for a professional career or dancing for the sheer joy and pleasure of movement. New Haven Ballet’s mission is to demonstrate and use the power of dance to change the life of every person in the community through education, performance, physical exercise, artistic aspiration, personal development and social interaction to the fullest of their potential. New Haven Ballet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and acknowledges the generosity of its devoted patrons and Corporations as well as Foundation support including New Alliance Foundation, City of New Haven Department of Cultural Affairs, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Arts/Department of Economic and Community Development and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Elm City Dance Collective is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is grateful for the support of its donors and sponsors, including The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and Fresh Yoga.

Beginning September 3, 2014, ECDC’s advanced contemporary dance class will be held every Wednesday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at NHB’s Danspace, 70 Audubon Street, New Haven. Class registration is now open. For more information call: 203.782.9038 or visit: www.newhavenballet.org or www.elmcitydance.org.

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